Sommelier Heather Green Found the Perfect Breakfast Wine: Moscato d’Asti

Big, high alcohol wines- reds and whites- have dominated the American wine scene for decades.  So what’s a girl to do when she craves a kinder, gentler beverage?  This girl turns to Moscato d’Asti.  It’s a lightly sweet and slightly fizzy dessert wine from northwest Italy, though I rarely confine it to after-dinner status.  Well chilled, its sweetness is fun and refreshing, not sticky and cloying.  The delicate bubbles don’t sting- they tickle.  A low alcohol wine at only 5.5 percent (about one third of some big Cabernets), this is something you can enjoy at brunch without stumbling through the rest of your day.  In fact it’s often referred to, only half jokingly, as “the perfect breakfast wine.”  Indeed.  So if you’re looking for something with seductive sweetness and fabulous fizz, look no further than your local wine shop and pick up a bottle of Moscato d’Asti for $10-20.

Green is certified by the Court of Master Sommeliers as a Sommelier. She is a member of the wine and spirits team at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse in Dallas and writes about wine and spirits for EscapeHatchDallas.com.